Robin Carnahan, the Missouri Secretary of State, has certified the results of the Democratic Attorney General primary recount. State Senator Chris Koster is the Democratic nominee:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, September 11, 2008Jefferson City, Missouri – Missouri Secretary of State Robin Carnahan today announced the certified results from the recounts of the Attorney General Democratic primary election and two State Senate Democratic primaries.
The final results of the Democratic Attorney General primary recount confirmed the victory of State Senator Chris Koster over Representative Margaret Donnelly. The difference between the two candidates after the recount is 829 votes, and the difference before the recount was 780 votes.
Final results of the recount are as follows: Sen. Chris Koster, 118,934 votes; Rep. Margaret Donnelly, 118,105 votes; Rep. Jeff Harris 86,550 votes; and Molly Williams, 23,140 votes….
….The Democratic Attorney General primary recount is the second statewide recount conducted since Secretary Carnahan took office in 2005. In 2006, a recount of the Republican State Auditor primary confirmed the victory of Sandra Thomas over Jack Jackson.
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[emphasis added]
Chris Koster’s campaign issued the following press release:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2008
KOSTER CALLS FOR UNITY; LOOKS FORWARD TO FALL CAMPAIGN
Senator Chris Koster, the Democratic nominee for Attorney General, today issued the following statement regarding the certification of recount results in the Attorney General primary election:
“Throughout a hard-fought primary campaign, Representatives Donnelly and Harris championed issues critical to Missouri’s future, ranging from important consumer protections to the prosecution of cyber crimes. I look forward to working with both of them and their supporters to carry those issues and others through the November election and into the Attorney General’s Office. It is now time to move forward as one strong, united Democratic ticket led by Missouri’s next governor, Jay Nixon, to deliver the change our state’s working families so desperately need.”
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Update: Margaret Donnelly’s campaign sent out the following e-mail:
The Secretary of State has certified the results of the recount and the outcome is the same. I have called Chris Koster and congratulated him. Although we all would have liked a different ending to this story, I am proud of the campaign that we ran and the doors that we opened.
The friendship and support you have shown me over the past year have been at times overwhelming. During these past weeks of the recount, I continued to be humbled and gratified by the sacrifices made by so many in order to help.
I will now focus my efforts on making sure that Democrats from Barack Obama down to legislative candidates are elected. This is a critical election and I hope you will join me in doing everything we can to insure that we put Democrats in those positions.
I will never forget all of your many kindnesses and your efforts on behalf of my campaign.
Best regards,
Margaret Donnelly
I have zero respect for Koster. He refused to show up for two candidates forums I attended. He only won because he spent more money than the other candidates combined. Even then he only got a third of the vote. The way he raised money and the sources of that money are questionable.
He voted for to kick 100,000 off health care, for MOHELA, for prohibiting the teaching of sex education in the schools, and almost the entire Blunt agenda. He has refused to answer the basic questions about why he voted the way he did. He owes those of us that fought against Blunt an explanantion. He has refused to answer even basic questions about why. He just ran his misleading commercials and misled enough voters to squeak by.
Koster is a cancer on our party. Better to excise the cancer now than later.
Someone is going to have to convince me that Gibbons is a monster before I vote for Koster. I won’t vote for Gibbons but at this moment I plan on not voting in the Attorney General race. I see no point in putting a Republican in sheep’s clothing in a position that is the springboard to higher office in this state. As long as Gibbons wouldn’t do significantly more harm I might as well see him in the office.
So, Democrats. You have less than 2 months to convince me why Gibbons will be a disaster as attorney general.